Archive for the ‘Prince Aly Khan’ tag

One of two such Cadillacs that Ghia built on the Series 62 chassis for the 1953 Paris Auto Salon, Ghia chief Luigi Segre intended to use it to foster a working relationship between the two companies, similar to the relationship Ghia was establishing with Chrysler at the time. Instead, Prince Aly Khan spotted it on the stand and bought it then and there for his wife, actress Rita Hayworth. What good it did their foundering marriage can be debated – the couple divorced that year – but from that point on it became known as the Rita Hayworth Cadillac, landing on the cover of Road and Track, ending up in the Petersen Automotive Museum’s collection and even playing a bit part in Iron Man 2. Spectators at this year’s Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles can get an up-close look at it as it goes on display as part of the Glenmoor’s special class of Ghia-built cars.

(Pity the other Ghia-built 1953 Cadillac, which survives as well and occupies a visible position in the Imperial Palace Auto Collections, doesn’t benefit from such celebrity ownership.)

The 17th annual Glenmoor Gathering, scheduled for September 16-18 at the Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio, will also feature one of the few remaining Chrysler Turbine cars – one of two in private hands – alongside the Rita Hayworth Cadillac as part of the Ghia-built automobiles class. Accompanying the car itself will be a special presentation on the history of the Turbine cars by Steve Lehto, author of Chrysler Turbine: The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Coolest Car. Other Ghia-built cars on display that weekend will include a 1951 Ferrari 212 with Ghia coachwork; the 1954 Plymouth Explorer show car (also from the Petersen Museum); a 1961 Ghia L 6.4 Ghia prototype; a 1958 Dual Ghia 400; a 1958 Chrysler Imperial limousine by Ghia and a 1967 Ghia 450 SS convertible.